Is there a device that a person can attach to their clothes dryer vent that lets the heat “escape” into the house, while still venting the moisture outside? It just seems to me that this is a waste of heat, especially in the winter. I realize this would only be attempted with an electric dryer, if there is such a thing.
Any ideas?
You can just coil a lot of the flue duct (that vinyl-covered Slinky type) around behind the machine. That’s what I did, just because it was waay too long, but it does act like an extra radiator on cold mornings.
Good God isopropyl - please tell me that you don’t still have that vinyl duct coiled up. That stuff is the worst - it collects lint and then catches on fire. Use rigid metal or metal flexible ducting.
As for separating the heat from the moisture, it’s difficult. I have seen little boxes that you plug the duct into so that it vents into the room, but that doesn’t send the moisture away. And the moisture is what you don’t want hanging around. I think you may be screwed.
Thought some more - you could build a heat exchanged around your duct, but you will then have to deal with the extra moisture that will form in the duct when you lower the air temperature. (A reminder for those who missed the defrosting the windshield thread - hot air holds more moisture than cold air)
Epe… got it right: if you “conserve” heat, i.e. if you remove heat from the mixture, the moisture will condense inside the duct.
There is a device that is installed in the air exhaust hose. It has a door you can set to direct the moist air into the house in the winter when the air is very dry - at least it is here in New England. The door is set to vent the air outside in the summer. There is a screen that prevents some (most?) of the lint from entering the house.
We have one and use it when I can remember to go down to the basement and set the little door in the proper position.
Not exactly what you asked for, but it does sort of address the issue.
I had a similar, yet opposite, idea. During past frigid Midwestern winters, I used to wonder why they didn’t have some kind of duct from the outside that you could use to help your refrigerator keep the food cold. I think I heard somewhere that the refrigerator is typically the biggest consumer of energy in a household, and it just seems silly to spend money to heat the inside your your house in winter, then run a refrigerator to keep your house heater from spoiling your food.